The Criminal Outrage

Chapter 17

Like I wrote, we spent quite a while without anything. It was starting to weigh down on Sly. He was so nervous throughout the night that he didn't sleep one bit. His eyes were bloodshot.

He was right to be nervous though. When we woke up, the quietness was making our ears buzz. Do you know that sound of nothing? There is a sound for it. When something is extremely quiet, our ears ring. That was the case here. We heard absolutely nothing. No cars, no voices. The only thing we heard was the "Quiet Buzz", as Sly called it. Although I wanted to keep my Guitar (now named "Adaline") clean, she was already a bit dirty. Just some smudges, but still...it's dirt no matter what. 

We didn't expect to rest, either. Ricardo told us that a car would stop eventually, but they didn't. We slept behind this abandoned shack. It was horrible, and none of us slept fantastically, but the only main thing on my mind was keeping Adaline safe. If grime had although pushed through the seems of the case, the future would be disgusting.

"You seem down. You brain dead?" Winchester tapped my shoulder once I started walking around in the morning.

"No. Just focused on my Guitar more than anything."

He nodded. "What's the security about? Why can't you relax?" He didn't understand the need for protection and security. 

"You wouldn't understand. Guitarist thing."

At that, he smiled, and walked away.

We got a move on very soon. The hitch-hiking plan was back in focus, and Ricardo was busy  shuffling rocks into his pocket while putting his thumb out to the road. Whenever someone ignored us, he'd pelt their car with a rock. The rocks usually missed, but the drivers knew what Ricardo was doing. It took a good 2 hours until this run-down car pulled over, squeaking as it slowed down. The driver was cautious. He pulled up a side of his shirt so we could see that he had a pistol. "Is there something ya'll need?" He put his shirt side back down and waited.

Ricardo said, "Yessir. A lift...anywhere?" 

The man said nothing. He turned his head towards the street. After some silence, we got into the car. I took the farthest seat away from him, afraid that he'd pull a gun mid-drive. If I was lucky, he would see me last.

"Do you need to put that thing somewhere?" He asked.

I looked around. "What 'thing'?"

He pointed in the general direction of my case.

"Oh. It's a Guitar Case, but no...I'm O.K." I was a bit choked up. Choked up from being afraid. We drove in silence for God knows how long before he took a sharp turn down this dirt road, passing some houses. He stopped at this red home, and excited the vehicle.

"Ya'll can come in, if you'd like. This is home, for me."

We all stared. He walked into his home and slammed the door. Ricardo coughed and shuffled himself into the driver's seat. "Ooh. Better than my car," He mumbled. Luckily for us, the man left the keys in the ignition. "Ok boys. New car, new plan."

Sly rubbed his bloodshot eyes and peered over to Ricardo. He tilted his head in confusion. "We stealin' it?". Ricardo didn't reply for Sly to get it. Soon enough, the car was moving forward. It didn't smell bad, which was great. 

"Where to next?" Ricardo stopped the car again. None of us replied, and he started to move forward.

"Any of you gonna-" Ricardo flipped the wheel. Our heads ducked. I heard a yell. The car didn't flip like I thought. It just jolted forward. Another yell, another jolt.

Water spurted up from the car and hit me in the face. I looked around...nothing. I wiped the water off of my face just in time to be launched backwards. The car was booking it. Ricardo was holding his right arm, grimacing. 

It took me a while to put two-and-two together and find out that it was blood that hit my face...not water.

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I'm going to be taking a break from TCO for a bit to work on a Guitar Book. I'm getting writer's block, but I want this story to continue. See you soon!